Phoenixes Require Ashes
by JelloStix
Summary: Ashes are the residue of a substance that has been burnt. In Jack and Ianto's case, they are the unfortunate couple being burnt, but, like a phoenix that rises from the ashes, they will emerge stronger than they ever were before. And for those around them, it is a sight to behold. Previously called 'Resolving Arguments'
1. Lighting the fuse

The Torchwood Three team had been following a slew of odd activity over the last three months. It was a case that had been somewhat on the back burner, among other cases. They had finally pinpointed what had been happening; that was a mixed group of human and alien renegades had been smuggling alien weapons in and out of Cardiff. Jack had notified UNIT of the weapons trade and they had tracked down the weapons on an international scale, but Jack had insisted that Torchwood could take care of the local threat. It had just been a matter of tracking down the drop off and storage points. It was obvious the humans had taken charge of the operation, at least on Earth, because both of these points were in the same location. Typical of humans to choose convenience over stealth. That made the shutting down of the operation rather easy. A combination of good old fashioned reconnaissance and GPS tracking devices had led them straight to the warehouse on the edge of the city where the weapons were being stored. It also covered for the ships landing to drop off their cargo.

And so the team was waiting for the opportune moment to storm the warehouse, scatter anybody inside and then blow the place off the map, thereby removing all and any evidence of the existence of alien technology. And of course the 'scattering' would be heavily monitored for future retcon administration. It sounded easy enough, but of course that's when things went wrong.

The plan was for Jack, Ianto, Gwen and Owen to take an entrance each, whilst Tosh monitored it all from the Hub. Jack, being as flamboyant has he was, insisted that he enter from the front entrance, thereby garnering the most attention and allowing the others to enter inconspicuously from behind. Jack would give a speech about the dangers of weapons dealing and lecture the poor gullible humans about making deals with untrustworthy aliens. The others would of course be using this distraction to surreptitiously plant charges in each room of the warehouse and, in some cases, collect samples of smaller weapons to be studied at a later date. Then they would herd the culprits out the front door as quickly as possible. A quick search through the warehouse would ensure that there was no one else hiding away, only to be blown up with the stolen goods. Once everyone was out of the blast radius Tosh would detonate the explosives remotely.

Simple enough. In fact there had been no arguments about it when it had been proposed at the team meeting. It somehow slipped all of their minds that they were about to storm a weapons base. Or at least none of them had managed to make the connection between weapons and real bodily harm. To be entirely fair, this was one of the tamer cases they'd had in the last few months. There didn't seem to be anything particularly dangerous about it.

So they went in as planned. Ianto ran around to the back entrance of the building and was just about in place when something caught his eye. In the paved area behind the warehouse, a rudimentary shooting range had been set up. There were a few standing targets with significant burn marks, and scattered debris of what he assumed was the remains of previous targets. There was also a table of dismantled weapons. A sinister thought dawned on Ianto. These people weren't just transporting weapons to war zones, it was evident that they'd been practicing with them. In the team meeting everyone had just assumed that they'd be facing up against human weapons, but it appeared as though the smugglers had learned to use the weapons they were smuggling. Of course they had. There was no point smuggling weapons that no one knew how to use.

This was bad. This was very bad. The danger of this mission had just stepped up a notch. Ianto had to tell the others. Maybe they should head back to base and develop a new strategy and re-arm themselves. He pressed a finger to the comms device in his ear.

"Jack," he said, quietly. "We may have a problem, sir. It appears the smugglers have learned how to fire the alien weapons."

"What do you mean Ianto?"

"I mean, there is a firing range behind the warehouse," he explained. "And the targets have been thoroughly destroyed. They may not have the best aim, but they will surely do some damage."

"Right," Jack sighed. "The situation has just upgraded to: kill or be killed. No one, but us, comes out of that warehouse alive. Their weapons outstrip ours by light years, literally, so if you have a shot you take it. Understood?"

Gwen and Owen responded in the affirmative. Ianto, however, was much more hesitant.

"Ianto, is there a problem?"

"We're to go ahead as planned, right, sir?"

"Right."

"So, you'll just storm in the front door, with just your revolver, and try to talk them down while they shoot all sorts of beams and rays at you?"

"That is the plan, Ianto. Thank you for summing it up."

"But you'll get killed, Jack."

"That would be the 'be killed' part of 'kill or be killed'. I'll come back, I always do."

Ianto clenched his jaw for a moment before responding.

"That's not the point Jack," he retorted. "You shouldn't have to die in the first place."

"It is a necessary sacrifice," Jack snapped. "This is not up for debate. You don't have to be happy about it, but you do have to go along with it."

The following pause brought with it a deafening silence. The tension was thick and no one dared what was quickly evolving into a lover's spat.

"Fine." said Ianto.

He moved into position and waited for Jack's signal. He heard Jack's entrance and subsequent death through his ear piece, but pushed on with the mission in spite of it, planting the explosives and killing any smugglers he came across, as per Jack's orders. They did in fact have superior weapons, but their aim and reflexes were very poor. When the threat in his area was sufficiently neutralised, he moved into the front of the warehouse. There had apparently been quite a fight in this area. It was not surprising to see that each of Jack's killers was dead on the floor. Jack, even when dying, tended to put up one hell of a fight. Speaking of which, there he was lying in a pool of his own blood. He had gone down fighting, as evidenced by the gun still in his hand.

Ianto vaguely heard Owen and Gwen enter the room behind him. He wasn't paying much attention. He was figuring out the best way to remove Jack's body from the pool of blood without ruining his shoes and suit. More importantly he was planning how to most efficiently move Jack to the SUV.

"C'mon Ianto," insisted Owen. "We've gotta finish planting the explosives. Job to do."

Instead, Ianto handed his left over explosives to Owen.

"I have to move Jack," he replied. "Can't just leave him to be blown up with the rest of the place."

"Why not?" asked Gwen. "He'll just come back won't he? Surely after everything else an explosion won't kill him."

"That is not a theory I want to test out, thank you very much." Ianto scowled in Gwen's direction. "And I imagine coming back after being exploded isn't very pleasant. I'd like to spare him as much pain as possible. I'll meet you at the SUV."

Not bothering to wait for any follow up arguments from Gwen, Ianto lifted Jack by the collar of his ruined greatcoat and dragged him out of the pool of blood. He surveyed the state Jack was in and sighed. His entire front was soaked red, there was no practical way to carry Jack without ruining his suit. Without further ado, Ianto hefted Jack's left arm over his own shoulders and wrapped his arm around Jack's waist. It was a hard task, but Ianto managed to half drag, half carry Jack all the way out to the SUV. He propped the temporary corpse up against the side of the vehicle and opened passenger side door. He lifted Jack into the car and then circled to the other side and got in, resting Jack's head on his lap.

Finally he took a moment to inspect the damage. The front of Jack's shirt had been torn to bits and his abdomen was covered in gaping holes and burnt skin. The burns ran up Jack's neck and up one side of his face. Half of one of his eyebrows was gone and his fringe was singed, Ianto could tell by the scent of burnt hair that lingered. It was not a pleasant sight, and yet even as Ianto watched the wounds in Jack's chest began closing and the rippled burns began smoothing out. The redness was going down as well, fading to a dusky pink. Past experience told Ianto that the burns would take longer to heal than the rest of the wounds, as they were not life threatening, but they would hurt like hell when Jack revived. And unlike the wounds in Jack's flesh, his eyebrow would not grow back quickly at all. Jack would be missing half an eyebrow for a few days at least. And the singed parts of his hair would need to be trimmed down. Ianto lamented the loss of length in Jack's fringe, he was particularly fond of running his fingers through it, and the way it fell into his eyes added a boyish nature to his handsomeness.

He sighed once again as he leaned his head against the car window. He allowed his fingers to wander through Jack's hair.

"Why do you do this to yourself Jack?" Ianto whispered, somlemnly.


	2. Boom

As Jack was indisposed, Owen drove them back to the Hub and the entire way back, Ianto continued carding his fingers through Jack's hair. He may have been angry at the man, but he couldn't find it within himself to withhold the comforting gesture because Jack would surely need comforting when he finally woke up. Sure enough, just as they pulled into the garage, Jack spasmed, gasped for breath and opened his eyes. When he relaxed back onto Ianto's lap, Ianto began running his fingers through Jack's hair and the the newly revived man relaxed into the touch. He closed his eyes and smiled contentedly.

"Thank you," Jack murmured.

Ianto chose not to respond, deciding that any response would just validate Jack's earlier actions. Instead he urged Jack to sit up so they could leave the vehicle together. Once again Ianto pulled Jack's arm around his shoulders to assist Jack in walking back into his office and down to his bunker, where Jack would shower and change his clothes.

Ianto, on the other hand, retreated to the staff showers and cleaned up in there before secluding himself in the archives, unwilling to talk to anyone, especially Jack. That is where he stayed until Jack came down to find him. Ianto made sure not to look up when he heard Jack come in.

"You took your ear piece out," stated Jack.

"I did." replied Ianto.

"And you didn't answer your phone." Another statement, but much terser than the last.

"It's on silent," Ianto's reply was equally as terse as Jack's statement.

"What if there had been an emergency?"

"There was no rift activity predicted for this afternoon," answered Ianto. "And I'd have heard the alarm if anything had come up?"

"Okay," huffed Jack. "Well, everyone else has gone home, you're welcome to go with them if you like."

"I shall."

"I was kind hoping we were past this stage, but circumstances being what they are," said Jack. "I would like to spend the night at yours tonight. Would that be okay?"

"Of course Jack.

The two men walked silently to the car park and climbed into separate vehicles. Jack commandeered the SUV and Ianto drove his silver Audi. They met at Ianto's flat and walked inside together. Both removing their coats and shoes, they made heir way into the living room, sitting on separate couches. They sat for a long while, until Ianto finally broke the silence.

"You just don't care, do you?"

"Could you be more specific, please?" Jack requested.

"About dying," Ianto specified. "Or rather about how it might feel."

"How it feels?" said Jack, incredulously. "What do you know of how it feels? I'm the one experiencing it. It _feels _like being dragged kicking and screaming over hot coals and glass. That's how it feels. So, forgive me if I try not to think about it too often."

"That's not what I meant,"

"So, what did you mean, huh?"

"I meant; you don't consider how it feels for us," explained Ianto. "How it feels for the people you leave behind. How it feels for me."

"Leave behind?" quoted Jack. "You know I come back, right. I _always _come back. I come back for you, and you make everything right again."

"You don't have a choice," Ianto pointed out. "You don't know why you come back, you just do. You've been alive for over 150 years, Jack. Tell me, if you had the choice, would you keep coming back for me, or would you just die, get it over with?"

Jack must have hesitated for a moment too long because Ianto huffed, stood up and began pacing to work out his frustration. Finally, Jack stood up and spoke up.

"You're right, I don't know why I come back, hell, the Doctor doesn't know why I keep coming back, but I do," exclaimed Jack. "So it doesn't matter what I would do given the choice because it's _never going to happen_!"

Ianto turned, sharply, to look Jack right in the eye.

"That's what you want, is it?" asked Ianto, scornfully. "You just want to die. You don't care about me at all, do you? You don't know what it's like seeing you dead like that! Logically I know you're going to wake up, sure, but a small part of me thinks you might not. And every time you die that part gets bigger. Like every death brings you closer to the one that sticks. And then what Jack?"

Ianto turned away to hide his imminent tears. He took a few deep breaths to fend them off for a little while longer.

Silence filled the room, and it was deafening. Jack felt like he was suffocating in it. He didn't know what to say, how to fix this. But;

"I'm so sorry Ianto," he apologised. "I didn't know you felt this way. I don't know what I can do to help."

"You could try dying less," offered Ianto. "No more of this 'necessary sacrifice' rubbish."

"I can't do that," Jack shook his head. "I need to protect you, and that's the best way I know how."

"Then, maybe," Ianto gulped back his sobs. "I need to learn to not care about you so much."

"What do you mean?"

Ianto turned to face Jack again, shocked to see how troubled he looked.

"I mean," said Ianto. "That if I'm to stop getting hurt by you, I need to take a step back from us, whatever that is."

Comprehension dawned on Jack's face, "You don't mean that."

"Maybe I do."

"But I need you."

"And I need you, Jack," Ianto faltered. "But if you continue to sacrifice yourself, then I need to learn not to need you, and hopefully it won't hurt quite so much."

"So, that's it?" asked Jack. "We're over?"

"Yes, I believe so." Ianto intoned. "Now, if you don't mind, would you please leave?"

"No. No way."

"LEAVE JACK! I AM DONE!"

Jack nodded. He shuffled towards the door, in no hurry to leave, in case Ianto changed his mind. Ianto did not change his mind. He just stared stonily after Jack, willing him to leave faster. Because, as soon as the door closed behind Jack, he sunk into the couch and cried.


	3. Flying shrapnel

Neither Jack nor Ianto show any outward signs of emotional turmoil at work. Ianto sequestered himself in the archives for the most part. He still ordered in meals, ate with the team and made coffee, but spent more and more time in the lower levels of the Hub.

Jack, on the other hand, had chosen not to isolate himself from the rest of the team. He actively helped Gwen, Owen and Tosh with their various projects. He found the most satisfaction in helping Tosh identify certain interesting pieces of alien technology. Over the next few days he helped her identify the most recent acquisitions; the alien weapons from the smuggling ring. He and Tosh spent days inspecting and cataloging the various functions for each of the weapons they'd confiscated. Tosh made a very interesting discovery on the third day.

"Jack, have a look at this," Tosh handed him a gun no bigger than his hand. "If it does what I think it does, then it's brilliant."

"What is it you think it does?" Jack asked as he inspected the little weapon.

"I think it discharges tracking devices like little bullets." explained Tosh. "basically, you shoot someone or something and a chip lodges itself into the flesh and activates. I think each chip is designed to run on residual electricity from the brain."

"I think," murmured Jack. "You are exactly right. This could come in very handy. Do you think you sync the chips to our system? It would make tracking down the ones who get away much easier."

"Absolutely, I'll get started on it."

Jack thanked her and moved on to the next weapon, a type of grenade, he was pretty sure. He pulled it apart, carefully, and tried to identify which race had manufactured it. He was just about done writing down his findings when Gwen called out to him. He was beginning to remember why he had been so reluctant to take over as leader.

"What's up Gwen?" he asked as he moved over to her station.

"There's been a UFO sighting over near that warehouse we blew up three days ago," she answered. "I think someone should go and check it out."

"Sure, I'll go do that," Jack sighed. "Any chance you wanna come with me?"

"No, it's date night and Rhys would be furious if I missed another one," Gwen remarked. "I've got to head off soon if I'm to be on time."

"That's fine. You enjoy your night." Jack said. "Tosh, fancy an outing?"

"Not right now Jack," Tosh replied. "I've still heaps of these weapons to go over."

"Right, you keep doing that." Jack agreed, she really should be doing that, it really wasn't that important for someone to accompany Jack anyway. That didn't mean he wouldn't mind the company. "I'll go see what Owen's doing."

He walked over to the med bay and glanced down at Owen's work table. As he expected, Owen was elbow deep in alien blood and guts. The doctor glanced up when he noticed Jack's presence.

"Do you need something, Jack?"

"No, it's fine," answered Jack. "I'll just go ask Ianto instead."

As much as Jack had outwardly seemed okay, he was still very much hurting inside and was quite reluctant to spend time alone with Ianto so soon after they had broken up. But he felt like checking out a UFO sighting, especially as it was so near the sight of their last mission, was at least a two person job. So he trekked down into the lower levels of the Hub to find his archivist. He found Ianto amongst several large piles of paperwork.

"Ianto," he called as he approached. "I need you to come check out a UFO sighting with me."

"Yes, sir," Ianto replied. "I'll be right up."

Jack retreated back to the main level to ready himself for what was sure to be the most awkward car ride since he'd driven Ianto home after the cyberwoman incident. He shrugged and got on with it, strapping his Webley to his belt and pulliung on his greatcoat. It was still relatively new, since the last one got ruined, and felt stiff on his shoulders. But he preferred to wear it, because he felt naked without it. He began his descent to the garage when an idea hit him and her returned to Tosh's work station.

"Tosh, have you finished configuring those chips in that tracker gun, yet?" he queried.

"I have," she informed him. "Would you like to take it out for a test run?"

"Would I ever!" Jack exclaimed. "Thanks Tosh."

Tosh handed over the tracker gun and Jack tucked it into th waistband of his trousers in the small of his back. He quickly kissed Tosh on the cheek then sauntered into the garage, where Ianto was already waiting in the passenger seat of the SUV. Jack slid into the driver's seat and reversed out of the garage.

Just as Jack had predicted, the ride out to the remains of the warehouse was excruciatingly awkward. Neither man wanted to break the silence in fear that it would just spark another argument. Jack just kept his eyes on the road and Ianto stared out the window.

As there was no need for stealth this time Jack pulled up to the front of the fallen warehouse. He took a moment to brief Ianto on the plan. Like last time it was very simple.

"We're just gonna ask them to leave," instructed Jack. "There shouldn't be a problem, it just means they'll have to find somewhere else to dump their weapons. But be on your guard. I don't know who they are and they could be hostile."  
>Ianto nodded and the two men exited the car. They approached the spaceship parked behind the warehouse, where the firing range had been on their last visit. It didn't take long for one of the aliens to notice them and point them out to its friends.<p>

"Hello," Jack called out. "We mean you no harm, but we would like it very much if you would leave this planet. Sooner rather than language."

"What if they don't understand English?" murmured Ianto.

"They should," said Jack. "Especially if they were trading with humans."

And sure enough the alien leader stepped forward and began speaking in English.

"You are not the humans we have been dealing with." it stated.

"No," replied Jack. "But as a protector of the people of Earth, I request that you take your trade elsewhere. We have no need for your weapons."

"And what of our payment, since our cargo appears to have exploded?" inquired the alien.

To this Jack had no answer. But apparently on of the aliens did, as it stepped forward and began speaking in an intergalactic language. One Jack didn't know very well.

"What are they saying Jack?" Ianto whispered.

"You just assume I speak their language because I'm from the future." Jack replied. "Just because you're right doesn't make it okay. They're talking about means of... compensation, I think. Wait, I think one of them just said we're attractive. And apparently they don't have enough room for something."

"That doesn't make any sense," stated Ianto.

"I don't know all the languages, I barely know enough to understand what they're saying." Jack huffed. "I can't make any sense of it either. For all I know, I'm translating wrong. I mean what are the chances that there talking about how attractive we are..."

Jack trailed off. Something one of the aliens had just said caught his attention. He could have sworn he heard the word for kill. That didn't bode well. But if anyone was going to die it sure as hell wouldn't be Ianto.

"Ianto," warned Jack. "Go back to the SUV. We need to leave."

He turned to make sure Ianto was in fact making his way through the rubble to the SUV. That was why the sonic blast to his chest caught Jack off guard. Next thing he knew he was flying backwards in the piles of brick and cement. And then the world went dark.

Meanwhile, Ianto turned sharply at the sound of a weapon being fired. He briefly glimpsed Jack being thrown off his feet, before the residual sonic wave hit Ianto and knocked him down. He was mostly uninjured by the fall, but he imagined he would have a number of bruises. But Jack was not alright. Ianto suspected he was dead and would require assistance in moving back to the SUV. Not to mention the keys were one of Jack's many pockets.

Ianto gingerly pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over to where Jack had landed. He quickly felt for pulse and, finding none, pulled Jack into a precarious sitting position. A sharp tug from behind him prevented him from moving Jack any further. He suddenly found himself engulfed in four arms and struggled valiantly. Unfortunately it was all done in vain and Ianto was lifted off the ground and carried in the direction of the spaceship.

"No!" he screamed. "Let me go!"

The alien holding him laughed in his ear.

"Let you go?" it hissed. "You are our compensation for the destruction of our goods."

Ianto refused to give in. he twisted and turned in his attempts to loosen the alien's hold and in doing so glimpsed Jack coming back to life. It must have been a knock to his head that killed him. He usually didn't revive so quickly.

"Jack!" called Ianto. Jack would save him. He didn't want to be compensation.

"Ianto!"

Jack's exclamation had all the aliens turning in surprise. They obviously thought Jack had been dead. It just have been astonishing to them. Even more so when Jack stood at full height and aimed a gun at the alien holding Ianto. It was not a gun Ianto recognised, but if Jack was willing to use it in place of his revolver then it must have been powerful.

"I won't let you take him away from me." Jack said steadily. And then he did something Ianto didn't expect him to do. He shot at Ianto's shoulder.

Pain surged through Ianto's body, centralising on his clavicle and scapula. Through the pain, Ianto registered confusion. Surely Jack hadn't meant to hit him. He must've still been weak from his recent death. The aliens laughed at Jack's misguided shot, laughter that only escalated when Jack dropped to his knees in apparent exhaustion. Ianto felt the fight drain from is body. Neither he nor Jack could do anything to put a hold to his abduction. Ianto was carried helplessly into the ship and thrown unceremoniously into a holding cell.

He scrambled to the one porthole and took in the sight below him and it brought him to tears. Jack was slumped on his knees, he looked to be crying, like he'd been utterly defeated. Somehow he found the energy to lift his hand to his ear though because a moment later Ianto heard Jack's soothing tone in his ear.

"Ianto," he said. "I'm going to find you, I promise with all my heart. Because if I've learned anything over the last three days, it's that I cannot possibly live without you."

"I'm sorry Jack," sobbed Ianto. If this was going to be the last thing he said to Jack a long while it needed to mean something. "I shouldn't have said what I did. I was angry and should never have broken up with you."

"I know Ianto," Jack whimpered, still clearly in pain. "But you were right. I sacrificed myself for you today and look where it landed you."

"It's okay, Jack, really it is,"said Ianto. "It's not your fault. I should have just gone back to the car and hot wired the damn thing. You were dead, they'd have left you alone. But I couldn't just leave you there. I care too much about you to just leave you behind like that. I -"

A loud static noise filled his ear indicating to Ianto that he was out of range of the comms signal Torchwood used. Now he was truly isolated.


	4. Shockwaves

Ianto sat in the fetal position under the porthole. It was just a few minutes before two guards came and escorted him to the on board medical facility. He was forcibly stripped before a doctor cleaned and examined his shoulder wound. The alien doctor apparently did not speak English as he babbled at Ianto in his native tongue, with no regard as to whether or not Ianto could understand him. Then he picked up a device that looked strikingly like the deep tissue scanner Owen used, and held it in front of the gaping hole in his shoulder. The device made a whirring sound and Ianto could feel the bone and tissue knitting back together. It was surreal.

Once he was healed completely, Ianto was forced to his feet. The aliens forced a pile of clothes into his arms and he was escorted back to his cell. He quickly pulled on the clothes, which consisted of a black t-shirt and a pair of grey cotton shorts. They did nothing to stave off the persistent chill of the room.

A quick survey of the cell told Ianto that the only way in or out was the metal door with no inner door handle. Other than that there was a small cot, with a pillow and a blanket, and, thankfully, a toilet and a sink. Thank goodness for small mercies.

As there was nothing to do but stare at the blank grey walls, Ianto curled up on the arrow cot, wrapped in the woolen blanket and cried for his losses. For what else is there to do when you've been kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings.

* * *

><p>Back on Earth, Jack had broken numerous traffic laws to reach the Hub in record time. He sprinted from the garage into the main level, skidding to a stop by Tosh's work station. He pulled out the recently fired tracker gun and slammed it on Tosh's desk.<p>

"You calibrated each of the trackers to our system, right?"demanded Jack. "I need you to track one of them. Or at the very least tell me you could track it, if it were in range."

"Of course Jack,"Tosh acquiesced. "These things activate the moment they enter the blood stream so I should be able to track its movement from almost from the moment you shot it."

She opened a program on her monitor and scrolled the different frequencies until she came across the only active one. She clicked on it and a map of Cardiff and the surrounding suburbs popped up. A blue line indicated the path the tracker had taken, but it tapered off and Jack knew that meant it was out of range. He was sure Tosh could find a way to make the tracking software portable, but that would only work if they were in close enough proximity to the tracking device.

"Out of curiousity," Tosh inquired. "Who or what are we tracking, Jack?"

"Ianto," he said, solemnly. "He was abducted. I'm going to find him. I needed you to upload the tracking software into my wrist strap. Can you do that?" Jack removed his wrist strap and placed it on Tosh's desk.

"I can," said Tosh, hesitantly. "What will you be doing?"

"I will be going through our database to identify what species we're dealing with here," explained Jack. "Then I'll have some idea of where I should be searching. I may have to call in some help."

Tosh nodded and got to work. Jack, meanwhile, returned to his office to start sorting through the considerable database Torchwood had compiled over the years, as well has his personal database. It was going to be a long process. He just hoped he could get it done quickly. The sooner he could find Ianto, the happier they would all be.

* * *

><p>Though it was very difficult to keep time whilst traveling through space, Ianto was sure at least a day had passed before his cell door opened once more. They hadn't even given him food or water. He was running on fumes by the time the guards dragged him out his cell again. Luckily enough it seemed they had every intention of feeding him as they led him into a mess hall, but he wasn't sure what it was that they were feeding him.<p>

As he picked at his food, he surveyed the room and concluded that most of everyone else eating at that time were also prisoners, but he was the only human. And he appeared to be the only one wary about eating the strange blue stew. Perhaps, after a certain while, eating strange looking food was more desirable than starving to death, but Ianto had barely a mouthful of the blue sludge before deciding that he could last a few more hours with out eating. He didn't know it then, but he would soon change his mind. At least the water looked safe enough to consume, so he did, knowing that he couldn't last very long with out hydration.

Ianto pushed his still full bowl away and kept his head down until someone came over to escort him back to his cell. And someone did come over to escort him out of the mess hall, but they didn't take him back to his cell. Instead they led him in the opposite direction, into a room full of machines and what could only be exercise equipment. Right away Ianto knew he was going to be tested, for what he didn't know.

Soon enough they had him running on an alien treadmill, different from the ones he was used to by only the alien language on the display instead of English. As he ran they had him hooked up to various machines, presumably monitoring his pulse, blood pressure and respiratory rates. Years of running after aliens for Torchwood had prepared him for this exercise.

Next they had him lifting various weights. Ianto was less prepared for this test. Yes, Torchwood required some heavy lifting, but it usually for sustained periods of time. In fact it mainly consisted of lifting unconscious or dead bodies into the SUV (Jack more often than anything else).

Lastly, they took his measurements. They had him stand up straight as they took his height, chest and leg measurements. And bizarrely enough, they measured his head circumference. If he had to guess, they were probably estimating the size of his brain, and extrapolating intelligence from that. It was ludicrous, of course, but he was a whole new species to them, so they probably didn't have all the tool necessary for testing human intelligence.

Once the aliens were satisfied with the data they had collected a guard finally took him back to his cell. He found that his earlier assessment of not having to eat the exotic foods to be wrong. After all those tests he was painfully hungry. Since he had nothing to distract him from the hunger pains except perhaps sleep, that was exactly what he did. And that was what he did for the next few weeks; he ate the strange alien food, he performed a never-ending slew of tests (some of which were painful or annoying) and then he would force himself to sleep.

* * *

><p>As Jack had thought it would, it had taken an excruciatingly long time to find the species of alien that had abducted Ianto, but he had. They were a species called the Venelicions. They specialised in slave trade and trafficking. Jack's heart had sunk when he had found that out. It meant they were going to try to break Ianto's spirit, make him compliant. Because a compliant slave made for a happy buyer. But Jack knew Ianto better than to think he might give in to any sort of torture with out a fight. Even if he contained the fight in his head there would always be hope for Ianto Jones.<p>

As soon as he knew the species that had taken Ianto he had gone to work finding out the most likely places they would take Ianto. This included trade worlds and black markets. Jack also did research on where a human slave might be deemed most valuable. He narrowed it down to two places; a trade planet in the Juxtopose system or a black market on a space station near Bithmorency.

After all the research had been completed, Jack, reluctantly, contacted John Hart to ask him to keep his eye out for Ianto in any of the markets that Venelicions frequented. Then he called in the big guns, or at least he tried to. Martha had given him the Doctor's personal number, but no matter how many times he called, Jack only reached the voicemail message. He settled for leaving a message every time, but so far he hadn't received any reply. He did this for a month and soon tinkering with his vortex manipulator, in the hopes that he could get it working again and find Ianto without the Doctor's help, if need be.

At the end of each fruitless day Jack trudged into the SUV and drove to Ianto's flat. After everything that had happened he found comfort in the place he'd spent so many wonderful nights, even if his most recent memory of the place was Ianto breaking up with him. But he was Jack Harkness, he wasn't going to let one little fight get to him. He would find Ianto and make it up to him if it was the last thing he did.


	5. Scattered debris

Jack absently pressed redial on his mobile phone. It was the fifth time in an hour he had tried this number. Not to mention the dozens of times before that. After all of that he wasn't very surprised to be redirected to the voicemail message, but that didn't stop him from being disappointed. Like every time before, Jack left a message expressing the urgency of the call.

He began to think Martha had given him the wrong number. After all, she had said that the Doctor had answered every one of her calls. Even if she was just checking in with him or his newest companion.

Or, more likely, the Doctor was screening and ignoring Jack's calls. It wasn't anything new. The TARDIS had flown all the way to the end of the universe to try and shake him. Not answering his calls was certainly the easier of the two.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Jack dialed an equally familiar number. In this case, though, he knew full well not to expect an answer. In fact, receiving an answer would be nothing short of a miracle. But, alas, no miracle seemed to ever come to Jack.

"Hello, you've reached Ianto Jones. I'm not able to answer the phone at this time, but if you leave your name and number I'll be sure to call you back. After I'm finished saving the world from extraterrestrial threats, that is."

In contrast to the Doctor's voicemail message, which was starting to grate on Jack's nerves, Ianto's message never failed to bring a smile to Jack's face. It was an honest description of what Ianto did on an almost daily basis, but to an outsider it was just a quirky little joke tagged onto the end of an otherwise typical voicemail message.

And quite frankly it was just nice to hear Ianto's voice again after so long. Even if it was repetitive and somewhat artificial. Still Jack dialed and redialed Ianto's number several times a day, if only to ease his aching heart.

Jack had just listened to the message for the third time in a row when Gwen walked into his office. In her arms were loaded a large pile of manila folders. Jack knew what they were and he knew he didn't want to look at any of them.

"More?" he whined. "Gwen, you know I don't read them, right? All that work you've put into sorting out all that information and it's just gonna end up in the bin."

"Not this time Jack," she sounded adamant this time. "I'm going to sit here and go through them with you. You're not getting out of this time."

"But we don't need any of them," insisted Jack. "We don't need another team member because Ianto will be coming back."

"No." barked Gwen. "We need to move on. You especially need to move on. And I'm going to help you."

Jack sighed. He knew Gwen wouldn't leave until she got her way. He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk, inviting her to sit down. She did and unloaded the files in her arms onto the desk at the same time. Jack took the file on top of the pile, but he had barely opened it when two distinct sounds reverberated throughout the Hub. The first, the intruder alert alarm, had all team members standing and pulling out their fire arms, ready for combat. The other, a strange synthesised grinding noise, had Jack sprinting out of his office and fumbling to shove his revolver back in it's holster because the man who would shortly step out of the big blue phone box materialising at the foot of the water tower would not approve of having guns pointing at him.

"Turn off that damn alarm," Jack shouted over the noise.

The Doctor had barely stepped one foot outside the TARDIS when Jack engulfed him in a rib crushing hug.

"I knew you'd come," marveled Jack. "Or I'd hoped you would."

He stepped back to give the Doctor some breathing room and to let him emerge fully from the TARDIS. Jack peered into the still open door as if expected the emergence of another person. When no one was forthcoming he shot a confused glance at the Doctor, only then realising that the Time Lord was looking extremely worried and had his hands up. Owen, Gwen and Tosh all had their weapons pointed at the Doctor.

"Oh," said Jack. "Hey, guys, guns away please. They make him twitchy."

No one moved to do as they were told.

"Who is he Jack?" Owen asked, gruffly.

"He's the Doctor," Jack explained. "I called him, he's going to help us find Ianto, right?" he addressed the question at the Doctor himself.

"I'll do what I can." the Doctor assured him.

"He's not going to take you away again, is he?" Gwen asked the question, but Jack knew they were all wondering.

"He may have to, but not right this second."

That reassured the team enough to let them put their guns away at least. So Jack returned to his previous train of thought, noting the absence of the Doctor's companion.

"Where's your new companion Doctor?" he asked.

"I dropped her off at a resort on Barcelona, the planet, not the city." explained the Doctor. "You mentioned Venelicions in your message, and I will not risk her life like that. She's safe where she is."

"Fair enough," acknowledged Jack. "Shall we move this to my office. Tosh would you come with us please. The rest of you; back to work."

Jack led the Doctor up to his office and offered him a seat. Tosh stood idly by the door, ready for when she was needed, as she expected she would be.

"As you said our team is dealing with a group of Venelicions," said Jack. "We thought they were only here to trade black market weapons. I didn't think they'd abduct one of us. And if they did, I thought it would be me, being what I am."

"And you need my help to track them down?" queried the Doctor.

"Sort of," replied Jack. "We have a way of tracking them, but we need your help amplifying it, I guess. Tosh, do you wanna explain it better for me?"

The Doctor turned his attention to Tosh. "Oh, hello. Dr. Sato, is it?"

"We've met?" Tosh asked at the same time that Jack asked; "You've met?"

"Yes. I met her before I met you Jack." The Doctor stated. "I would've looked different back then, but I never forget a face. Do you remember the space pig, as you so aptly called it?"  
>"Oh, yes," Tosh looked mystified. "Sorry to say I'm not really a doctor. But I'm good with computers."<p>

"Very good." Jack emphasised.

"Okay, then, show us what you've got."

The Doctor gestured to Jack's computer. Tosh moved to the othter side of Jack's desk and pulled up the software she had used to track Ianto while he'd been on Earth. The Doctor peered at the computer screen nodding along as Tosh explained it all to him.

"You were right Jack, she is exceptional at this computery stuff." said the Doctor. "But I'd like to do some tinkering of my own, if you don't mind."

Tosh simply nodded and moved away from the desktop to give the Doctor room to work. Not that he needed that much space to work. He just pulled his sonic screwdriver out his jacket pocket, pointed it at the screen and pressed a button on it. It whirred for a few moments and suddenly the readings on the screen changed. Where before they could only track Ianto in Cardiff, they could now track him in several galaxies. In fact the signal they had lost was now being picked up in the Juxtopose system, a couple of galaxies away, just as Jack had suspected.

"Oh dear," intoned the Doctor.

"What are you talking about?" exclaimed Jack. "This is great. All we have to do is fly the TARDIS there and bring Ianto home. Piece of cake."

"Jack, do you know anything about the Juxtopose system?" asked the Doctor. "Before your teammate was abducted, did you know anything about Venelicions, at all?"

"Not really, but what does it matter?" Jack was getting frustrated now. "How hard can it be to fly over there, grab Ianto, and bring him home?"

"They're slave traders!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Not just any old slave traders. They collect the best specimens from all over the universe and sell them to the highest bidder. If an able bodied human male is a rarity for them, can you imagine what you or I could mean to them? I'm the last of my kind, I'd be worth a fortune. And you, you're an immortal from the fifty-first century, living in the twenty-first century. Going into one of their markets is almost suicidal for us. The best we might be able to do is bargain for your friend's life in exchange for ours."

Jack paled considerably at that. The Doctor was right. It was too much of a risk. He had to decide whether saving Ianto was worth giving up his freedom. But it wasn't really a decision at all. Jack would give up anything to save Ianto.

"You're right." muttered Jack. "I can't ask you to risk your freedom like that Doctor. But I can risk my own freedom. All you have to do it drop me off where Ianto is being held. I'll trade myself in his place and you can bring him home."

Sensing a change in mood, Tosh slipped from the room. Jack was grateful for that. He would rather not have an audience for this conversation.

The Doctor sighed. "He means an awful lot to you, this man."

Jack could only nod; tears threatened to spill from his eyes making it hard to talk.

"I know how hard it can be to let someone go,"confessed the Doctor. "Even when you know they're still alive and there's nothing you can do to get them back, but –"

"_Do_ you know?" fumed Jack. "How could you possibly know what it's like?"

"I know Jack," snapped the Doctor. "Or had you forgotten that Rose is locked in a parallel world?"

That shut Jack up. He had for a second forgotten that the Doctor had lost plenty of people he cared about. Rose was just the most recent on a long list of people the Doctor would never see again. She was someone they had in common, someone they had both lost.

"I'm sorry Doctor." Jack mumbled. "I just don't know how I can live without him."

The Doctor stepped forward and embraced Jack. Jack hugged him back, if only to provide a comfort that they both sorely needed. Once the hug had done it's job both men stepped back.

"I'm so sorry that there's not more I can do," the Doctor sighed once more. Then he turned away and exited the office.

Jack collapsed into his desk chair. He listened for the synthesised grinding that would indicate the TARDIS leaving. He felt as though his last hope was leaving with it.

* * *

><p>Ianto sat on his cot facing the door. After two months of travel the spaceship had finally landed. It had not been an easy two months. Each day had been filled with tests and torture. His captors had tested everything they could think of, including the amount of electricity he could stand before blacking out, the number of days he could go without sleep, and what temperatures his body could bare, just to name a few. He was feeling extremely worn out.<p>

It didn't help that the aliens hadn't given him any indication as to what they were looking for. They hadn't really told him anything. He knew that some of them spoke some English because they knew when he'd insulted them, which he'd done quite a bit of at first, but after a while the punishments just weren't worth the satisfaction he got from insulting them. His determination to make everything just that much harder for them had slipped everyday. There wasn't much left of it. Barely enough to keep him believing that Jack was going to pull off a miraculous rescue.

The door to his cell opened and a guard threw in a clean pile of clothes, before retreating and locking the door again. Ianto picked up the clothes and inspected them. They were basically the same, except that the number 4268656637 was printed on both the front and the back of the was something he'd guessed at all along, but having a number was just the last bit of proof Ianto had needed to confirm that he was about to be sold as a slave to any alien with enough money. At least they hadn't tattooed the number on his skin.

Resigned to his fate, Ianto changed into the fresh clothes, feeling just a bit cleaner than before, and sat back on his cot. He hadn't waited very long before a guard entered he cell had handcuffed him. The guard attached a chain to the cuffs and led him out the door. Ianto obediently lined up behind his fellow prisoners and was chained in his place at the end of the queue. He followed along as the prisoner ahead of him pulled on his chain. They marched as one entity through the corridors of the spaceship, down a ramp and onto a platform that would serve as a temporary stage to exhibit the goods that would be auctioned off.

Ianto kept his eyes on his feet for two reasons. The first was because he didn't want to look at the people appraising him, determining his worth. And the second was that he just wasn't allowed to look up. He had tried several times aboard the ship to look into his captor's eyes and had been beaten for his efforts. He assumed that looking into his potential buyer's eyes would result in a similar punishment. It was because of this that he was surprised to hear a familiar voice.

"What have we here?" it said. Then read aloud from the description on the auction summary; "Slave no. 4268656637: Human male, still in his prime. Well built, fit and relatively strong. Speaks accented English and some other Earth languages, such as Welsh and some French. At 180cm tall, with blue eyes, and dark brown hair, this fine specimen shows an aptitude for cleanliness and an eye for detail."

The man let out an exasperated breath.

"They certainly think highly of you, don't they Eye Candy?" John Hart asked rhetorically. "Although I believe that your fine rear would have been worth mentioning. Not to mention your endless supply of sarcasm."

John chuckled at his own joke. "I do hope whoever buys you understands your actual worth. You have, after all, been given the highest estimate of all the products. Anyway, maybe I'll see you around, Ianto Jones."

With that John walked into the crowd taking with him the first bit of familiarity Ianto had had in over two long months. But what he left behind was worth much more than what he'd taken with him. And that was just a smidgen of hope. Hope that now Jack would have a much better chance of finding him.


	6. The dust settles

There is in the Juxtopose system a planet dedicated entirely to different types of markets and retail properties. If you are ever in the Juxtopose system and you wanted to start a business this would be the planet to go to. It is simply called the Market, it's hard to miss.

It was obvious to Ianto that the Market hadn't had very many humans for sale before. As the slave auction began everyone was very quiet. In fact one or two slaves didn't even meet their reserve price and were put aside to be sold at a later date. However, the bidders began cheering when the auctioneer read Ianto's number and description. Bidding hadn't even started and it was turning out to be an exciting auction.

And then it did start. Ianto didn't understand the economics of the planet, he didn't even understand half the languages in which numbers were being called, but he understood the ferocity in the room. It seemed like everyone wanted to get their hands on him. It was a bit unnerving. Ianto spent every bit of his will power to continue looking at his feet, knowing that even a glance upwards would result in a beating, but with all the action he could hear going on in the crowd it was a difficult task.

The bidding war for Ianto lasted almost twice as long as all the other bidding wars, but it did eventually die down. As it turned out, some aliens did not have inexhaustible bank accounts. Soon it was down to two bidders each trying to outbid the other. Ianto didn't dare look at them, but he was sure they were trying to stare each other down. And if it was anything like an auction on Earth, they probably had phones to their ears trying to move around assets to find the money needed for their very expensive purchase.

Finally one bidder hit a price that was too far out of the other's range. After a few moments of tense silence the auctioneer began calling it. He was calling it for what Ianto assumed was the third and final time when out of nowhere a voice called:

"2.5 billion credits!"

The crowd, and the auctioneer, gasped in unity.

Ianto wasn't sure, but by everyone else's reactions, that sound like an awful lot of money. And from the lack of counter bid it could only be an outrageously high bid because following the bid the room fell silent. The auctioneer finally pulled himself together and began calling it. The auction was over. Someone had paid a ridiculous amount of money for Ianto. If he were appalled at having just been sold like a piece of meat, he might have been flattered by how much someone thought he was worth. Now he just had to meet his owner.

Someone came and led him off the makeshift stage into a small tent. Who stood there waiting for the person who would walk through the door and take him off to be a slave.

"Well, Eye Candy," said his new owner. And Ianto could have cried in relief for the recognition he felt. "Maybe I don't understand your value, but the man I bought you for certainly does. Let's get you off this planet and back home shall we."

Ianto nodded, still looking at his feet. He knew John would not hurt him for looking up, but they were surrounded by people who would. Ianto let himself be led by John through the marketplace to the outskirts of the town. Only when they were secreted in a secluded alleyway did Ianto look up.

The sight that met him was that of John fiddling around with the wrist strap on his arm. The one that, unlike Jack's, actually worked for what it was meant.

"Okay Eye Candy," he said, glancing up at Ianto. "Take hold and grip tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Ianto gripped the vortex manipulator as tightly as he could, eager to get as far away from this planet as he could. John pressed one last button and Ianto felt himself being tugged and sucked all at once through a deep dark tunnel, then he was spat out the other side. He felt dizzy from the sensation and took a nosedive to the floor. Luckily it was a floor carpeted in a plush shag rug, or it might have hurt immensely to crash into it.

Upon pulling himself into a sitting position, Ianto took a survey of his surroundings, including a look through the nearest window, through which he spotted two moons. That wasn't right. Earth didn't have two moons. The only planet he could think of that had two moons was Mars. And there was no way they were on Mars. It was inhospitable, as far as he knew. And he said so.

"We're not on Earth, Earth has only one moon," he explained. "Mars has two moons, but it's inhospitable."

"You are correct," replied John. "We are on the planet I grew up on. It actually has seven moons. Three are visible at night, but the other one rises much later than the others so you can't see it from there. And the other four rise at various times throughout the day."

"Right," murmured Ianto. "What's it called?"

"The moons?"

"No, no," Ianto clarified; "The planet."

"Oh no, Eye Candy," John told him. "The less you know about me and where I came from, the better. Besides, this is just a pit stop. Now, would you like to go to bed? The guest bed is all made up and ready to go, whenever you're ready."

Ianto nodded pitifully, his head was aching terribly and a good night's rest sounded good. So he let John guide him to the guest bedroom, where he fell into bed and promptly fell asleep.

A bright beam of light woke Ianto the next morning. He tried to roll over to siled his eyes from the sun, but, having forgotten where he was, rolled right off the bed. The fall and the resulting landing jarred Ianto into wakefulness, so instead of getting back in bed and going back to sleep he ventured cautiously into the living area of John's apartment. As soon as he exited the the guest bedroom the scent of bacon hit his nose. He followed it to the kitchen where John appeared to be cooking enough breakfast for at least eight people, if not more.

"Good morning Eye Candy," greeted John. "Hope you're hungry. I spent a good lot of money on cuisine from your humble planet, so you'd better enjoy it."

"Why are you doing this?" Ianto asked. "Last I checked you didn't like me very much."

"Your Captain Harkness asked me to keep an eye out for you," explained John. "I'm surprised that I found you at all, seeing as I wasn't trying very hard. Like you said; I don't like you very much. C'mon, finish up your breakfast. We're going shopping. Gotta spruce you up for your return home."

_ A noise in the living room woke Jack up. As he came to his senses he recognised the noise to be a door closing and a lock clicking into place. Someone had just come in the front door. Now on high alert, Jack leaped from the bed and hurried into the front room. There, removing his coat, was Ianto. Jack smiled and rushed forward to envelope the young man in a fierce hug. Ianto eagerly returned the hug._

_ "Not that I'm complaining, but why so clingy all of a sudden, cariad?" Ianto asked._

_ "I'm just so glad you're home." Jack mumbled into Ianto's shoulder._

_ "I was only gone a few minutes,"chuckled Ianto._

_ "Felt like months," said Jack._

_ "Well I'm back now," Ianto assured him. "Now, why don't we go to bed. It's late."_

_ Jack nodded. He led Ianto back to the bedroom and together they settled down to sleep._

Jack woke slowly. It wasn't usual for him to wake slowly, but he'd been having a fantastic dream. With his eyes still closed, he rolled over and flung his arm over the bed, fully expecting it to land on a warm body. But there was no one there.

Unable to ignore the absence in the room, and the despair it brought with it, Jack pushed himself into a sitting position. There was no point laying around in bed when there were more important things to do. Namely, find a new archivist for the Hub.

It had been a week since the Doctor had come and helped him to track down Ianto. Since then it had set in that Ianto wasn't coming back anytime soon. Even with Ianto around Torchwood Three had been woefully understaffed. Now, they were barely coping. Jack had come to the conclusion that they needed to hire someone new. So, he spent each day begrudgingly reading over the profiles and resumes Gwen had compiled for him. It was a long and arduous task, followed up by long and arduous stake outs. After all, he couldn't just call people in for interviews. That would defeat the purpose of a secret agency in a secret base. The only consolation was that each late night stake out ended with Jack going back to Ianto's flat and sleeping in Ianto's bed.

Most nights, for Jack, were restless, but occasionally he got a good night, filled with half remembered, comforting dreams. The only downside to the good nights was that the subsequent days were bad, filled with regrets and heartache.

So, it was with a heavy heart that Jack traversed to the Hub. He checked in on his team, then sequestered himself in his office to go over the latest batch of resumes. Some resumes were easy to discard. They didn't need any duplicates of tea members he already had. This meant all medical doctors, I.T. experts and police officers were automatically ineligible. What he really needed was someone experienced in administration, but able to assist in the field. It was a very specific job description, but it made sorting through the candidates very easy. Jack had made his way through half of the pile on his desk when Gwen entered his office.

"Jack," she hedged. "How are you getting along with the applicants?"

"Just fine, thank you."

"Well, if you need any – " she noticed the folders piled haphazardly in the rubbish bin. "What are all of those?"

"Unsuitable for the position," Jack explained.

Gwen picked up one of the discarded folders.

"This one doesn't seem unsuitable." she said. "In fact he looks very well suited for the job. He's ex-army, currently runs a self defense class, specially for women and children."

"You don't seem to understand what is required for this job." Jack snapped.

"I most certainly do understand," Gwen returned. "We need someone fit and can handle a gun, but who can also hold his own in hand-to-hand combat."

"Right," said Jack. "But we also need someone with a background in administration, someone who can navigate the intricate system Ianto left behind in the archives. Does that army man qualify? Answer; no he does not."

"You're being too picky about this, Jack." stated Gwen. "We can train him up for that stuff. Show him the ropes."

"I don't understand Ianto's system, do you?" asked Jack, dismissively. "If we were going to train someone to do the job, we'd be training them to use a gun and the defend themselves, not the other way around."

"You're being stubborn on purpose," Gwen accused. "Putting it off in the hopes that he comes back. Well, he's not coming back. Do you understand _that_, Jack."

"You need to leave," Jack said quietly. He looked back at the resume he'd been reading, barely registering Gwen leaving and the door slamming behind her.

No one else bothered him for the rest of the day. Not even the rift acted up. Jack sent everyone else home, and, with no one to stake out that night he went home to Ianto's flat and collapsed into bed.

A noise in the living room woke Jack up. As he came to his senses he recognised the noise to be a door closing and a lock clicking into place. Someone had just come in the front door. Now on high alert, Jack leaped from the bed and hurried into the front room. There, removing his coat, was Ianto. They stood in silence for a moment before Ianto spoke up.

"Jack, I'm so sorry," he apologised.

"What for?" asked Jack, confused.

"For the things I said before, um, before..." Ianto trailed off, but Jack knew what he meant. Before Ianto was abducted.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Jack insisted. "Everything you said that night was totally justified."

"Maybe," Ianto conceded. "But that doesn't make it okay to have dumped you. In fact, I take that part back."

"Really?" Jack asked.

"Really." confirmed Ianto. "I'm not done with you yet, Jack Harkness."

At that Jack crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Ianto, pressing a kiss square on his lips. When he pulled back he tugged Ianto closer into a hug, gripping him tight.

Jack could feel, even through Ianto's layers of clothing, that he'd lost a bit of weight. Not that he had a lot of weight to spare before. Nevertheless, Jack took in as much of the young man as he could. Ianto reacted in a similar manner. Soon Jack could feel the shoulder of his t-shirt sticking to his skin. Ianto was crying.

Jack pulled back and cupped his hands around Ianto's face. He thumbed away his tears.

"Don't cry," Jack mumbled.

"I could say the same to you," Ianto remarked.

Jack realised then that his own cheeks were wet too. He wiped his own tears away.

"Look at us," Jack gave a watery laugh. "Crying like a couple of girls. We should be happy."

Ianto chuckled softly, pulling Jack close again.

"Some people cry when they're happy," Ianto reasoned. "Maybe we're just those types of people. Although it could just be that we're both overwhelmed with emotion."

Jack laughed properly at that. "You've just got answer for everything, don't you?"

"I know everything, sir."

Jack pulled Ianto onto the couch with himself and they lay there, snuggling up to each other, for quite a while, content just to be in each other's company. But, while they might be comfortable there, Jack decides that if they're to get some sleep they should move to bed. It was easier said than done because the whole way they there they clung to one another, but eventually they found the bed and fell into it. And, for the first time in over two months, Jack and Ianto slept in one another's arms.


	7. Rising from the ashes

When Jack woke the next morning he found himself alone in Ianto's bed. Worse still, the other side, where Ianto would usually sleep, was cold. Jack sighed. It appeared as though Ianto had never returned at all.

"It was a dream," he lamented. "But it felt so real."

He decided not to dwell on the sadness that envelops him once more. Instead he collected clean clothes and underwear so he could shower and go to work. But as he exited the bedroom he paused. Something wasn't right. Something was different. He assessed the information his senses were providing and came to the conclusion that there was bacon cooking in the kitchen. He slowly moved in the direction of the kitchen, but paused once more at the entrance.

There at the stove flipping pancakes and stirring scrambled eggs was one Ianto Jones. Jack dropped his clothes in shock. The soft thump startled Ianto and he turned away from the stove only to smile sheepishly when he saw Jack.

"Ianto," breathed Jack. "When I woke up and you weren't there I thought I'd dreamed it all."

"Sorry," Ianto apologised. "I wanted to make you breakfast in bed. I didn't expect you to wake up before I got back."

"But you're here and that's all that matters," Jack crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Ianto. The hug was just as much to comfort for Jack as it was for Ianto, so they stayed like that for a few minutes. Until the smell of something burning permeated the air.

"Breakfast!" exclaimed Ianto.

He raced back to the stove and hastily flipped the pancakes. To his dismay they were burnt to a crisp. And the eggs were stuck to the pan.

"It's all ruined," bemoaned Ianto.

"Not all of it," said Jack.

Jack was holding the oven door open to peer inside. There, lining a baking ray, were several rashers of bacon and they were looking crispy in the way good bacon is supposed to look.

"The bacon's still okay," shrugged Jack. "Toast some bread for some bacon sandwiches and it's all good. And besides, bacon is the best breakfast food. What else do we need?"

Ianto bread into his toaster and waited patiently for the toast to pop. Because Jack was right. Bacon was all they really needed.

Once the sandwiches were assembled and plated, Jack and Ianto sat at the kitchen table to enjoy their breakfast.

"Ianto," said Jack, the solemn tone of his voice garnering Ianto's full attention. "Before you left, you made it very clear that you thought I didn't understand how it felt to be left behind, to not know if the person you love is ever going to come back. And maybe I didn't understand it then, but I think I get get it a little better now. I watched you being flown away from me in that spaceship. I had no idea whether or not I would ever see you again. I'm glad you never saw it because it destroyed me to have you taken away. So, I promise to be more careful about how and when I die. I can't guarantee that it won't ever happen, but I'll never purposely put myself in a position where I might get killed."

When Jack looked into Ianto's eyes he saw that they were swimming in unshed tears. But, miraculously, he was smiling. It was a wholly unexpected reaction. Jack had expected anger from him, not happiness.

"Thank you," said Ianto, simply. He then reached one hand across the table and took one of Jack's hands in his own, briefly squeezing it before picking up his sandwich again.

As they continued their breakfast Ianto regaled Jack with stories of how John Hart bought him for an exuberant amount of money, then proceeded to feed, clothe, bathe and shelter him. Jack in turn told Ianto about how he'd researched for weeks to find Ianto, how the Doctor had come and tried to talk him out of storming a slave market.

"Wait just a minute," Ianto interrupted. "You spent weeks researching these aliens, Venelicions, discovered they were slave traders, and then, knowing full well that you and your doctor were high on their list of most valuable goods, you called the Doctor in hopes that he would enable you to put yourself in danger, to save me?"

"Yes." said Jack, succinctly.

"That would be almost romantic," murmured Ianto. "If it weren't so bloody idiotic. How did you even know where I was?"

"The Doctor helped us boost the signal on your tracking device."

"I have a tracking device?"

"Yeah," said Jack. "I planted it on you when they were taking you away."

"How?"

"I, uh," Jack hesitated. "I used a device that Tosh and I had been working on earlier that day. It was a sort of a gun that injected a micro tracker chip into your blood. I shot it into your shoulder."

Ianto's eyes widened slightly. "That's what that was! I thought you just missed."

"I don't miss!" exclaimed Jack. "I can't believe you thought I missed."

"I can't believe you shot me." retorted Ianto.

"Only to save your life," said Jack. "I would to anything to never lose you again. I love you."

Any words either man had thought to say next were forgotten in that exclamation. Ianto was having trouble forming coherent thoughts, let alone full sentences. Jack, on the other hand, was planning multiple escape routes for the possibility that Ianto would react negatively. They sat in an undetermined limbo for a few moments, both feeling more and more uncomfortable they longer they sat in silence.

Finally Ianto managed to string together the words he needed to fully express his emotions. And really it just came down to a repetition of Jack's sentiment.

"I love you, too." he said.

It was as simple as that, really. In the moments that followed Jack stood up, pulling Ianto up with him as he did so, and captured Ianto in a breathtaking kiss. And Ianto gave as good as he got, pressing himself against Jack fiercely enough that they stumbled into the bench top. Jack reversed the movement and force Ianto backwards in the the living room. Deciding that the couch was closest comfortable horizontal surface, that's where they moved their heavy make out session to, only pausing their kisses to remove articles of clothing.

When all was said and done the two men fell asleep on the couch entangled with one another. Ianto had rested his head on Jack's chest, over his heart, unconsciously claiming the one thing that Jack had been most reluctant to give away.

* * *

><p><strong>That is, technically, the end, but only because I can't think of anywhere else it could go. And I think I wrapped up everything that still needed closure. I currently don't have any sequels planned, but if any of you readers can think of anything you want me to expand upon I'll be glad to take any ideas. Just make sure you review and let me know what you think.<strong>


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